Castaways
by Andromeda Prime
Summary: TF: Prime. Both clutched at their chestplates, at their sparks, crying and crying and calling for their carrier. But carrier didn't come. Then the doors came crashing down. SPOILERS for "Deadlock". Also a sequel to my previous fic "Consequences". Rated T for past mechpreg. COMPLETE.


**SPOILERS FOR "Deadlock", if you haven't seen it already. Also a sequel to "Consequences".**

.-.-.

"_Carrier!" she called, holding up the datapad she had scribbled on and smiling broadly. "Carrier, it's me and you and Soundless!"_

_He had just walked through the doors to his quarters when his miniature form threw herself at his legs and giggled, big red optics shining at him. Soundless, the oldest and yet the quietest of them, hovered in the doorway to hers and her sister's shared berthroom. Above her stood Soundless's sire, Soundwave. The communications officer nodded at the Decepticon warlord, and gently drew Soundless into a quick embrace before he stepped out of Megatron's quarters. The Decepticon warlord sighed and leaned down, gathering Starfall into his arms and walking over to Soundless, picking the tinier femme in his other arm._

"_Carrier?" Starfall held the datapad right in his viewpoint, blocking him from seeing anything else. Megatron didn't have the spark to order her to unblock his view, so he only stopped, nodded without really looking at the indecipherable scribbles and said, "It is rather lovely, Starfall. How long did you take on it?"_

"_The whooooole day!"_

"_Nu-uh," Soundless finally spoke, so quietly that Megatron often had to ask her to speak up, which he did. "She didn't take a whole day carrier."_

"_Yes I did!" the youngest replied, red optics glaring at her older twin. Starfall sounded so indignant and it took all of Megatron's willpower to not laugh. How much she sounded like Starscream in that instant. He walked into the twin's shared berthroom and gently deposited them in their own little berths. Starfall rolled into the center, squealing and clutching her datapad to her tiny chassis. Soundless curled into a ball right before her carrier managed to place her directly on it, and Megatron chuckled as she clutched to him._

"_Now now," he rumbled quietly, affectionately. He passed a gentle servo, one that had slain thousands of mechs in battle but now cradled young sparklings, over Soundless's helm before gently prying her digits off his armor. "We all need our recharge little ones. Carrier had a tiring day."_

"_But we're not tired!" Starfall whined, pouting, her lower lipplate sticking out._

"_Carrier is. Shh!" Soundless raised a long digit to her lipplates and shushed her younger sister. Starfall didn't quit pouting, but she lay on the berth anyway, clutching the datapad in her arms. Megatron reached over and gently pried it from her arms. "No hard objects in the berth."_

_Starfall made another whining noise, but when her carrier gave her a pointed look she stopped and closed her optics. Soundless looked over from the other side of the room, making sure her twin was definitely asleep, before slipping into recharge herself. _

_Megatron stood in the doorway of their room and smiled at the little femmes. It had taken a long time for them to grow on him, but when they did…_

_May the AllSpark help those that tried to harm them._

.-.-.

Carrier had told them to stay in their room and to not come out until he came back. To not open the doors for anyone, and did they understand?

They both nodded.

They played in their room, and Starfall was building a tower out of cubes and geometric shapes, Soundless was reading a datapad full of sparkling stories, when it hit them. The sensation of their sparks ripping in half.

Soundless hadn't cried when she had been born. At that moment tears streaked down her faceplates, and she cried out along with her sister for their carrier. Both clutched at their chestplates, at their sparks, crying and crying and calling for their carrier.

But carrier didn't come.

Starfall crawled over to her older sister, who was curled into a ball in the furthest corner of their room from the door. Soundless's optics were shut against the tears that still threatened to fall, and her servos were curled over her spark. Starfall dragged herself up, and threw her arms around her older sister, seeking comfort and solace.

"Carrier's gonna come. He's gotta come," were the only words Soundless could whisper, snaking her arms around her sister. Both femmes curled against each other, terrified.

Then the doors came crashing down.

.-.-.

The Autobots had torn through the entire ship, breaking down doors and barriers in search for more Decepticons. Starscream and Shockwave had fled the scene when Megatron's sparkless frame fell from the Decepticon warship. Primus knew where they were now. As the Autobots dispersed and scoured the _Nemesis_ they took down any Decepticon they could find.

So far all they could see were the faceless drones that they took down in every battle.

::The coast is clear by the medical bay. Knockout is in custody::

::So he's the only 'con left aboard?:: Arcee asked Bulkhead as she signaled Bumblebee to break the door in front of them down. The newly-recovered scout nodded his helm and blasted the door's locks and hinges and the security keypad. The doors slid open and both stepped through as Wheeljack replied ::Would seem so. Haven't found anyone else::

Everyone could hear the Decepticon medic snarking at his captors over the communication links.

The first room held a large berth and had a large window. Arcee nudged Bumblebee in and stood in the doorway, optics scanning the room for any signs of life. The yellow scout aimed his cannons around the room, also on guard.

::We found a berthroom. Nothing much here, though::

::No signs of life?:: Ratchet's voice came through the link. Arcee stepped in and peeked under the berth. Nothing except a few datapads. She picked them up and activated them, ruffling through them as she replied ::Nothing more than a few datapads. One a mythology story, another is the history of Cybertron…::

"History buff, then," Bumblebee commented, walking out into the main hallway from where they'd come through.

"It'd seem so," Arcee sighed, tossing the already viewed datapads on the berth, holding the last one in her servos. She skimmed her digits over the screen, turning it on. In lieu of text, a few multi-colored scribbles mostly in grey and red and dark violet against a white background showed up. The femme arched an optic ridge and opened her mouth to comment, but whatever was on her processor was quickly forgotten as Bumblebee shouted, "Arcee!"

Tossing the odd datapad onto the berth, Arcee raced out of the berthroom with her cannons at the ready and stood next to Bumblebee. The yellow scout's optics were wide as he stared into another smaller room. Arcee held her cannons up and slowly made her way into the berthroom.

The first thing to catch her attention were the tiny berths.

The second were the toys strewn around.

The third were the two little forms huddled in a corner, staring at her with red optics full of pure, unadulterated terror.

::Optimus!::

::Yes, Arcee, did you find something?::

::I found two 'cons::

::If they're the drones, just blast them to the Pit!:: Ratchet snarled.

Arcee shook her helm and crouched down in front of the little forms. Their optics followed her movement as she said ::No, Ratchet, you don't understand. They're _sparklings_::

A stunned silence fell over everyone.

.-.-.

Soundwave watched helplessly as the blue and yellow Autobots leaned down and picked up his daughter and her half-sister. Soundless froze in utter terror while Starfall, to her credit, started flailing and shrieking, crying for her carrier.

How he wanted to reach out and cradle his daughter, and pat Starfall on her back while telling them carrier was no longer living. He closed his optics behind his faceguard and then reopened them, trying to reach out to touch Soundless.

Nothing. His servo went through her like she was mere air. All the while tears streaked down her faceplates, and she struggled to speak, to say anything.

"Carrier! Where's carrier?! What have you done with carrier?!" Starfall screamed, her red optics brimming with tears as she banged on the arms of the yellow Autobot scout. "Where's my carrier?!"

Soundless only sniffled and curled into a ball, staring at the blue Autobot with helpless and wide optics. "Where's my carrier?" she whispered in a low voice.

Soundwave's spark shattered. He broke down into his servos.

.-.-.

The big green brute, his deceased mate's sworn rival, had slapped him upside the helm, sending him into darkness. When he woke from his slumber he blinked his optics against the harsh light and groaned as he saw the forms of all the Autobots gathered around him. Knockout hissed and tried to pry himself free of his constraints, but he was unable to. He was strapped down to one of his medical berths.

"Is this how you're going to end me?" he asked, masking his fear behind a tone of boredom.

"No." Optimus Prime narrowed his blue optics at him and then stepped out of his line of view to reveal two much smaller Autobots that he remembered from long ago. A blue femme, a yellow scout. In their arms were two very familiar forms, shaking in fear.

"Whom did Megatron and Soundwave have sparklings with?" Arcee asked, holding the Soundwave-lookalike sparkling in her arms.

Knockout scoffed. "Each other. And throw Starscream into the mix. Speaking of which," Knockout looked around, half-expecting the Seeker to show up somewhere, even as another prisoner, "where is Starscream?"

"We tore the ship apart," Bulkhead muttered, readying to knock the Decepticon medic unconscious once more, if need be. "You're the only 'con we found."

Knockout scoffed again and looked at Starfall in Bumblebee's arms. "I would think he'd at least take his so-called trophy, the sparkling he got out of Megatron."

Everyone looked at the Decepticon medic in surprise. He arched an optic ridge at them and chuckled. "You heard right. The entire crew got overcharged on high grade one night, and a Megatron stuck between Starscream and Soundwave later, these two came slithering out of him like some little parasites."

.-.-.

"Did you ever-?"

"No." Optimus merely stared out the windows of time and space passing by, his mind unable to wrap itself around the idea of Megatron…Megatron carrying, giving birth, and raising twins. He thought back to the times that he and the Decepticon warlord battled and fought. There were no external signs, no distended midsection, no serious fatigue.

Except for that battle with the Insecticon, where Optimus had the warlord at his mercy. Before Dreadwing swooped in to save him.

Ratchet sighed next to him, folding his servos behind his back and staring at the stars with his Prime. The medic cleared his vocalizer. "So what happens with the little ones now?"

Optimus closed his optics. Throughout the history of Cybertron when the victor rose from the ashes of his defeated comrade, he would turn his blade to gut the sparks of all his family and offspring, so no one could rise to challenge him.

He was not like that. The Prime reopened his optics and looked over at Arcee, Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Smokescreen caring for the femmes. Both were distrusting and still, not wanting to interact with anyone and anything. They still grieved the loss of their carrier.

Ratchet had said the pain of their bonds splitting with their carrier would take a long time to fade from spark. But they would always have a dull ache, he added.

"They're orphaned now. Castaways. If this were already on a living Cybertron…" the Prime mulled over his words and lowered his voice, "it would likely be best to leave them at a youth center. But…Cybertron is not alive." He shifted on his pedes. "So it is in their best interests that we look after them as much as possible."

Ratchet would have said something. But he didn't have the spark to.

No one did.

.-.-.

**Bunny that came to mind after "Deadlock" aired.**

**Within the next 36 hours, I will be moved into the campus apartments, and next Monday I begin my sophomore year of college. My tutoring job is looking to be far more demanding than I was originally told, and I have to keep up with the requirements for my scholarship so from here on out my updates will be very sporadic. Fanfiction writing will unfortunately have to take a backseat.**


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